


The Basement

by thecootiefairy



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Angst, Gen, Give Barbara your love and respect now pls, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24941845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecootiefairy/pseuds/thecootiefairy
Summary: The Maitlands have been living in fear of their basement ever since their deaths, and Barbara is personally done with it.  She wants to face her fear of it so she can get over it, but that seems to go far from great...
Relationships: Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz & Barbara Maitland
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	The Basement

The basement.

It had been eleven months since that fatal fall, long past the Beetlejuice drama. Not once since then had either Barbara or Adam Maitland dared to go close to the basement, fearful of what memories it would uncover. After all, it was where they met their demise; it was where their lives had been cut short. Whenever they needed something from it, they'd send Lydia, Charles, or Delia down for them. Though, it wasn't like very much of their stuff was down in it anyway. When the Deetzes moved in, everything went, except what was in the attic. Although since then, they had gotten a bedroom to stay in, and with the help of Lydia made it more styled to them. The entire house had changed past those two rooms.

The last Barbara remembered of the basement, it was part of Adam's workspace for carpentry and woodworking. He hadn't liked to work down there, though, claiming it was dim and scary; so, the young couple used it for storing the stuff he made for the most part. She had no clue what resided in it now.

One evening, everyone but Lydia and Adam was out. While Lydia was cramming for a test she had procrastinated on, Adam was working on cleaning their room. On that evening, Barbara decided that the fear she felt from the basement was enough. She was Barbara 2.0, right? Barbara 2.0 wasn't scared of her past; she was brave! She tried new, 'scary' things! Quite honestly, Barbara was done cowering in fear in something that couldn't even hurt her.

She was going to spend some time in the basement.

Without telling anyone, she marched down the stairs to the first floor, stopping when she reached the basement door. Just a few steps over in the living room, she and Adam had fallen to their deaths. How ironic. If she could sit there fine, she should be able to go to the basement fine!

Barbara moved her hand to the doorknob, holding it firmly as she stared at the wooden door; it was black now, unlike the dark brown it had been when she and Adam owned the house. She wanted to do this, but it was as if a force within her was freezing her in time. A wave of anxious nausea washed over Barbara as she looked to the door, and her body trembled. Her gut was screaming at her to turn around and go back upstairs. To rejoin Adam in cleaning their room. Yet, her heart told her to go down the stairs and get over this fear.

She stood in front of the door for what felt like forever, attempting to hype herself up. Part of her wished someone would force her to take the next step and walk down to the basement. She didn't plan to spend a lot of time in it anyway, all she needed to do was face her fears to give herself that peace of mind. When she and Adam were alive, cowering away from their terrors only earned them death. Soon enough, she closed her eyes and opened the door.

An eerie creak that screamed for WD-40 filled her ears, causing another wave of nausea to strike. Barbara peered down the stairs, the base of them ominously dark. She grappled with the same anxiety she had felt from before opening the door, going through the same thought process again; she very nearly turned around and went back upstairs. After a few long minutes, she took a slow step down. Then another. Then another. The blonde clung to the handrail tight, and her knuckles turned sheet white. Barbara squeezed her eyes shut as she walked down the stairs; her free hand shook.

Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she didn't dare to open her eyes yet. Barbara nervously fidgeted with the hem of her emerald green cardigan, the trembling of her hands only getting worse. Now, everything in her was insisting for her to run up the stairs and forget about this, but it was too late to go back. Reminding herself that this would help her get over her fear, Barbara forced her eyes open.

As soon as she turned the light on and looked at the space in front of her, Barbara relived their deaths. They had been dancing around the living room and finding more excuses on why not to make a baby just yet when the floorboards broke beneath them. Her life had literally flashed before her eyes when they fell. The last thing she heard before she blacked out was the crunching of their bones against the hard tile. For such a mundane couple, they had died a painful death. Parts of her skull had punctured her brain, whereas Adam's ribs had broken out of place and pierced his lung. Both had plenty of broken bones, cuts, and bruises, all of which showed from time to time when they were stressed out or extremely relaxed; she didn't feel it, but her injuries were starting to show. Barbara cupped a hand over her mouth, sinking to her knees as she got dizzy. Her entire body shook like a leaf. Although, she couldn't peel her eyes from the scene.

There were still bloodstains on the stone; when she caught a glimpse of it, her shaking only got worse. Barbara's vision filled with black and gray speckles, and her hearing felt like she was underwater. Despite not needing oxygen, a giant, suffocating lump formed in her throat; her mouth got incredibly dry. It felt like she was going to die all over again. She was sure she was going to die.

This was a mistake. By going into the basement, Barbara thought she would be getting over her fears, but they only felt ten times worse. She felt so weak, like she had taken one step forward, ten steps back. A pained cry escaped her lips despite no tears spilling down her cheeks— ghosts couldn't cry. Her choked whimpers came to a momentary end when another wave of nausea hit, this time pushing over the brim to a slime-like vomit. A puddle of clear, green-tinted slime was in front of her, similar to what she had seen in Ghostbusters before. She felt miserable like she had the stomach flu. Hugging her stomach, Barbara curled up into a ball against the wall and rocked. She wanted out of the basement, but she couldn't bring herself to get up to her feet. Barbara prided herself on being strong, but right now, she felt so, so weak.

Both Adam and Lydia had heard a cry, resulting in them both rushing down the stairs, only to see the basement door open. Lydia had to stop Adam from charging down the stairs to see what was happening and protect his wife, insisting she would go check on her instead. Two panicked Maitlands would not serve anyone. So, while Adam nervously paced, Lydia went down the stairs; her heart shattered when she saw Barbara in a heap against the wall.

It was silent for a few moments, Barbara hadn't paid much attention to Lydia coming in. When the teen crouched down next to her and tried to put her hand on Barbara's back, she flinched away. She desperately needed comfort, but couldn't bring herself to accept it.

"Barbara... Barbara, what's wrong?" Lydia had never seen Barbara so broken before; she had always kept her head held high. Barbara only gasped and whimpered as though she were choking for air in response.

Lydia was silent for a few more moments, glancing at the basement floor. The vomit from earlier had dissipated into thin air. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Barbara. She wasn't sure what to do, and she was scared for Barbara. But Lydia had slowly pieced together that this was a result of the basement and how the Maitlands had died. One day, she had gotten Barbara and Adam to tell her the story about it. "Barbara... lets... can we go upstairs? We should go upstairs.."

The blonde looked back up to her, avoiding making eye contact. She bit down on her lip harshly, violently nodding at Lydia's suggestion. Both she and the teen were small, so Barbara had to calm down a bit before they could even try to go up the stairs. Not having Adam there didn't help. After a few long minutes, Barbara let Lydia rub her back; she'd massage small circles into it, continually reassuring Barbara that she was okay.

By no means did Barbara's trembling go away, nor did her cries cease, but it got easier to manage. She had allowed Lydia to help her up, which proved to be a struggle in itself. Lydia's arm snaked around Barbara's back, holding her up under her armpit as she put her weight on Lydia. Luckily since she was dead, she didn't weigh too much. The teen awkwardly maneuvered them up the stairs and to the couch, which Barbara immediately sunk onto.

Barbara's leg fired off against the ground as she sat on the couch, not entirely processing she was out of the basement. It still felt like she was going to die again; the pictures of what she imagined their dead bodies to be like still sat in her mind. Her hands shook in her lap, everything from before still going on.

As soon as Adam saw Barbara in so many broken pieces, his heart shattered. He had gone to close the basement door, then sitting down on one side of Barbara. Lydia sat on the other side. In all of their time married, Adam had only seen Barbara this upset once or twice. Slowly, he placed his hand on her back, brushing his thumb against it. He reached for one of Barbara's hands.

When Adam tried to touch her, Barbara tensed up again.

"Barbara... Barbara, hey- hey. It's going to be okay..." He tried to comfort, giving her hand two squeezes. Whenever they were out and about while alive, they'd squeeze the other's hand twice to remind the other that they were there in a worrisome situation. Waiting for a moment, he gave her hand another two squeezes. Half of what he knew worked before —breathing techniques, water, going on a walk, and so on— was ineffective now. Lydia watched the two, glancing at Adam with a sad, worrisome look in her eyes. "Baby, I promise it's going to be okay... it- it will be..." He hoped it would be.

Slowly, Barbara's shaking slowed down again. Having Adam talk her through it atop Lydia being right beside her was enough to work her back. She gradually sank into Adam's touch, his arms wrapping around her in a warm embrace. Now-stifled sobs escaped her lips as he ran a hand through her hair; Lydia rubbed Barbara's shoulder.

"I'm- I'm- so sorry," she choked out. It didn't feel like she should be getting so worked up, she had made a stupid decision and she should've been able to face that. It felt like she was causing unnecessary drama and was embarrassing herself in front of the girl that seemed to admire her most. "It's- it's- it's stupid. It's—."

Adam shook his head, quieting her down. "Barb, my sunflower... it's not stupid." Gently, he ran his hand that wasn't in her hair over her back, trailing his fingers against her spine. "I promise it's not."

Barbara shook her head as well, trying to rebut what he was saying. She felt so stupid! Although she was only silenced by his gentle shushes. Slowly, Barbara found herself feeling exhausted; between Adam and Lydia rubbing her back and her panic from before, she couldn't help feeling tuckered out. Her attempts to say something slowly dwindled and her eyes grew heavy.

By no means were things better, there was a lot to unpack, but right now, all Barbara needed to do was rest. As her fright gradually became less severe, she fell asleep in Adam's arms. Barbara didn't dream, gladly taking her escape from the realities of the world while Adam held her.

She was safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for readinggg <3  
> Constructive-criticism is always welcomed


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